@hardartery Can you give a link the the restart sticky?
Also according to you when a restart can work?
For example Im in similar condition like after AAS use but I have not used any.
I think that a restart will work with someone that does’t really have a problem. If it’s just a matter of getting the ball rolling again, sure. If there’s a medical reason that it’s low, I don’t see a restart doing anything permanent if you haven’t fixed the problem. Maybe lifestyle has killed your production, so a restart will help if you have fixed the lifestyle problems.
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I think that it’s always worth a stab at a restart. Worst case scenario, it doesn’t work. I will probably attempt a restart again in the future myself. Not because I think that it will work, but because I know that I’ll be back in North America at some point in the next year and I don’t have an active script there.
Long term, you lose body fat, you get bigger shoulders, your balls shrink a little. Maybe you get some heart-wall thickening. I have “Athletes Heart” already, I had it before TRT and it hasn’t changed. I have sonograms to prove it and compare to in the future.
It won’t fix all of your problems, but it will let you be yourself. It will probably extend my life, but if it actually shortens it, that’s fine. Shorter but normal is better than extended misery.
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Where can I read this “Restart Sticky” a lot of people talk about?
@hardartery Good points. Following the sticky, after hCG cycle (4 weeks in) I’ll check in and see if I’m primary or secondary. If I’m primary, I’ll go for TRT for life with a liberated heart.
If I’m secondary, I’ll try Clomid/Nolva for another 4 weeks and taper off for another 4. Then I’ll check my FSH/LH (along with test) on week 4 and right after I tapered off. If FSH/LH didn’t normalize By then, my HP part of HPTA doesn’t function properly, will do extensive analysis on that (MRI, potentially other tests).
If normalized, I will be checking for another couple of months to see if it stays there. If it goes down, my HP part of HPTA doesn’t function properly, will do extensive analysis on that (MRI, potentially other tests).
If after 6-9 months of trials/tests and other root causing procedures, I’m still low on LH/FSH and thus, test, I’ll go for TRT with a liberated heart.
It would be interesting to know what @KSman thinks about this plan. So far, majority of my knowledge and protocol are due to @KSman’s stickies.
Thanks.
Whether it is lifestyle related or medical condition - in fact even the best doctors cannot tell.
I have some pituitary condition empty sella 3mm that slightly elevated my prolactine. But whether this has suppressed my LH, or me being a bit fat for a long years and 7-8 years eating junk food and drinking beer - nobody can tell.So I guess I need to try.
@vonko1988 Your case is interesting. Why are you thinking about the restart? I mean, you know you have an issue in pituitary and that might be the reason of malfunctioning HPTA, besides other ones listed. Do you want to treat the potential root cause and see what happens with FSH/LH and T after? What’s your plan? You know we can’t continue on low T for too long, it’s counterproductive and not good for your health (prob worse than TRT, at least this is what internet preaches).
Well I have some issue on the pituitary but Im not sure whether this causes low LH and nobody in fact is. If you are interested in all my blood works by dates you can check here:
For the pituitary I take small doses of cabergoline. Hope to be able to stop it not very far from now because I feel shitier from it.
I want to attempt the restart because obviously its not a life time commitment and does not threaten my fertility.
I think we see higher (50/50) because a lot of the guys coming to us have Anabolic Steroid Induced Hypogonadism and it is much more likely to recover from it than having some type of idiopathic hypogonadism.
Hi again everyone. Weirdly I figured out my problem. And fixed it. Maybe you’ll be in the same boat.
One word: Copper.
Got my copper tested and I was just under the low range. And the range is quite huge honestly, so being under the minimum is notable in my opinion.
Doctor had nothing intelligent to contribute as usual. To them unless you are drastically lower than bottom of range, you’re fine. Same bullshit they always say. Her suggestion was “eat chicken”.
Idiot.
So I started a copper supplement, being very careful of slow ramping up in dose, and not exceeding 2mg daily. Retested 2 months later a couple separate times and my T had risen to 450. My Copper was now in range but the lower 25th percent.
So I upped it to 4mg which was honestly more than I was comfortable taking even though safe range is supposedly up to 10mg daily. Retested several times over the next 6 months and my testosterone had risen to a nice healthy 575 naturally.
At that point I thought I was having some issues from the copper (headaches) and had read about how it can build up if you’re not careful. So I decided to take a break for awhile.
I maintained my T levels above 500 for quite a long time. It’s been at least a year. I retested copper and was now back right above the low threshold. So I’ll be going back on 2mg and probably focus on foods high in copper for additional benefit.
I consider myself cured. Though I’d much prefer 650+. I’ll look into options.
Wouldn’t hurt to get your copper levels checked and if you’re not at mid range, try 2mg daily chelated for a few months then test. I bet your T levels rise.
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That I believe. Those guys don’t really have a physical issue as a cause, just a screwed up loop. I expect that out of the population that is not shutdown from AAS use, it’s skewed heavily the other way though. This is based on nothing other than my opinion, but I’m curious to read what you know about that.
I didn’t mention you by name, because I wasn’t sure if I was remembering correctly.
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I had potassium abnormally low for 6 weeks and once I got my potassium to 3.5 (3.5-5.0), doctor stated potassium was good, only I had no reserve in the blood for my body to absorb do to being so low for so long, stupid robot doctor ~ it’s like they are in a cult where you can not get them to think for themselves because “in range” eliminates all critical reasoning.
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No worries I completely get it and I agree, It is def a lot lower for people that naturally have hypogonadism.